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Bacolod City, Philippines Wednesday, July 18, 2012
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Answer complaint,
2 officials ordered

BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

The Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas has ordered two Bacolod City officials to file their counter-affidavit and other controverting evidences to the criminal and administrative complaint filed by retired policeman Victor Eduardo against them for alleged gross violation of RA 6713 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Councilor Caesar Distrito yesterday said, “This is purely harassmentand politically motivated, as everybody knows that the complainant is identified with our political opponents and had filed dozens of cases against Mayor Evelio Leonardia and other city officials in the past.”

The order signed by Deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol, Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas and Assistant Ombudsman Virginia Palanca Santiago, gave Distrito and City Health Officer Dr. Salome Biñas 10 days to file their counter affidavit and other controverting evidence to the complaint of Eduardo.

In his complaint, Eduardo alleged that Distrito put a sticker bearing his name and picture on the boxes of medicines he had requested from the City Health Office which were distributed to poor and indigent residents under his Child Development Program in violation of a Department of Interior and Local Government directive.

Eduardo claimed that Distrito wanted to make it appear that the distribution of boxes of medicines are his own program and project, and not that of the Bacolod City Government.

Distrito said the medicines, which cost P17 each, were purchased using his personal funds as shown in the receipt he presented to the media dated January 2011 issued by PVN Enterprises.

Because he bought the medicines using his personal money, therefore, he placed his name on it, he said.

Distrito clarified that all the medicines that he had requested from the City Health Office had been properly turned over to barangay officials for the use of the indigent and poor patients, without his name posted on them.

He said Biñas had nothing to do with this as this was his own initiative.

"I pity Binas, a very efficient and non-partisan civil servant, who, because of dirty politics, was dragged into the case,” Distrito said.

“They are just trying to harass us in order to stop us from providing services to our people,” he said, referring to those behind the charges.

Distrito said their political opponents are just after cheap publicity gimmicks, but he believes that the people will not buy this baseless complaint.

He said they will not stop their program of providing medicines because this is for the good of their constituents.*CGS

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